1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to communication systems; and more particularly to high data rate communication systems being partially serviced across a utility grid.
2. Related Art
As is known, data may be communicated from one entity (e.g., end user's computer, server, facsimile machine, web browser, et cetera) to another entity via a communication infrastructure. The communication infrastructure may include a public switched telephone network (PSTN), the Internet, wireless communication networks, Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN) and/or any combination thereof. Such communication networks are constantly evolving to provide end users with greater bandwidth such that the user may receive and/or transmit greater amounts of data in shorter times with greater reliability.
In conventional communication systems, an end user is coupled to a communication system, or network, via a wire line or wireless communication path. Wireless communication paths include radio frequency paths and infrared paths, while wire line communication paths include telephone lines, Ethernet connections, fiber optic connections, and/or in-home networks using power outlets. Such in-home networks utilize a home's existing power wiring, which typically carries a 120 VAC or 240 VAC, 60 Hz signal, to carry high frequency signals that represent data. For example, HomePlug Alliance and other home networking committees are attempting to standardize in-home networking over power lines such that any end user device (e.g., personal computer, laptop, facsimile machine, printer, audio/video receiver, audio equipment, video equipment, et cetera) within the home, when plugged into an electrical outlet, is coupled to the home's power line network. As is known, the in-home networking is utilized once the data reaches the home, which may be done using a 56K modem, DSL modem, cable modem, etc.
As is also known, the last hundred feet of a communication system, i.e., the connection to each individual user, is the most costly and most difficult to install. To make individual user connections, the Telephone Company, cable company, etc., incurs a truck roll for in-person installation of the wiring, optics, coaxial cable, splitters, specialized modems, etc. In addition, many homes are very difficult to physically access, making the installation of the local connection even more difficult and more costly.
Power, or utility, companies are currently installing, in ground, fiber optic lines in parallel with the installation and/or repair of, power lines into neighborhoods. Such fiber optics may be used for transceiving high-speed data for users within the neighborhoods. The power companies have similar physical constraints in installing fiber optics to each home as the telephone companies and cable companies, in that many homes are physically difficult to access and/or costly to access. Further, the power companies have been unable to easily complete these high-speed data communication paths to the end user's homes.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus that enables broadband communications in local area networks of a plurality of homes.